Add hand pump to Well

[lakngulf]

I have a good well on my property run off 220 submerged pump. With all the "attack the grid" talk I was wondering what would it take to add a hand pump.
I think the depth is about 200 feet, and very good water. The pipe and pump wire are in probably a four inch pvc pipe.

How can I do it?

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Simple Pump Deep Well Hand Pump

Pumps up to 325 feet of static water!

simplepump.com

 

[zzvyb6]

Put a windmill up near it. All you would need is a cylinder, but it depends on how much water you want or need, plus how much wind you have, to avoid a hand pumping chore.

 

[Egon]

Get a free standing generator. Your tubing is a little small to run extra pump rods and pump.
Hand pump from 200 ft. Takes a strong back.

 

[alexinPA]

Another vote for generator. That's what I use.

 

[LouNY]

It can be done;
Stainless Steel Well Pump | Hand Pump for Well | Flojak
not inexpensive.

 

[stumblinhorse]

I bought an inverter/genset. Very cheap and simple solution.

 

[Valveman]

Not much room beside a well pump in 4" casing to put in a hand pump. As was said, hand pumping from 200' is not an easy job. Takes a pretty good size fan on a windmill to turn it. Windmills are good, but expensive and require lots of maintenance. Generator is the way to go, as long as you can find fuel. Thinking about trying to run a generator on wood gas just in case regular gas is not available. Also keep a long rope and a bucket made from a short piece of 3" pipe, in case everything else fails. Been prepping all my life and never had to use any of it. But I sleep well knowing a country boy can survive.

 

[oosik]

Forty plus years out here. Only ONE outage over two hours in all that time. However - I do have a stand alone generator. I use the generator to power my corded tools when I have projects out on the property.

Otherwise - the generator has a pretty lonely life.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

If grid goes down, pull the pump because it is useless. Get some 3" and make a few well buckets. Get a good greaseable pulley, not a flea market special, but a good oilfield type. Set you up a place to fasten it above well. Get you a few 300' ropes NOW. Local stores usually have 50' of big rope. So you need to order some. Your well buckets, get some 3" and put a bell reducer and be able to screw a check valve, spring loaded type, on bottom of this bucket you done made. Secret is, take the spring out of the check valve. Then, just the weight of the bucket will displace the seated ball and allow bucket to fill. Oh top of bucket, cut a collar in half and glue it onto pipe. Bail for bucket then can be bolted across pipe, just under collar you glued on. That way your bolt heads won't be scraping things. Me, I'd make a few buckets, buy a few ropes, few pulleys. All the things you have to do if the grid does go down, none of it happens without water. That's just how it is. I would stock up on instant coffee too. I heat water and put in thermal bottles so I have hot coffee before first light.

 

[oosik]

ROUSTABOUT. - have you ever pulled the pump from a 200 foot well. It's definitely a difficult DIY project - if at all. I know exactly how it is done and I certainly would not try it. Hand pumping or running some type of a bucket system is not all that easy either.

I would suggest finding an alternate source. Get water from a nearby lake and purify it. Easy to obtain - easy to filter and purify. Get yourself a few five gallon jugs - a filtration system - an easy chlorine purification system.

 

[Valveman]

I have pulled lots of pumps by hand that were 200' or so. On poly pipe with a high static water level it comes out pretty easy. Any kind of rigid pipe is more difficult, but can still be done. PVC will bend nearly as much as poly and can be pulled out all in one piece the same way. Steel pipe is going to require a lifting mechanism and needs to be unscrewed every 21'.

Have pictures of relatives from long ago using a bucket and rope. People where a lot tougher back then. I hope we don't have to find out how tough we are one of these days, because none of it will be easy if SHTF.

Should have also said, if you have 6" or larger casing a hand pump can be installed beside a submersible.

 

[forgeblast]

Lehman's Own Galvanized Well Bucket is in our emergency kit. we have a deep well, so its would be a pain to get a hand pump in there.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

ROUSTABOUT. - have you ever pulled the pump from a 200 foot well. It's definitely a difficult DIY project - if at all. I know exactly how it is done and I certainly would not try it. Hand pumping or running some type of a bucket system is not all that easy either.

I would suggest finding an alternate source. Get water from a nearby lake and purify it. Easy to obtain - easy to filter and purify. Get yourself a few five gallon jugs - a filtration system - an easy chlorine purification system.

I have pulled a 600' well with a homemade three pipe Derrick, two pipe wrenches, come along, pulley. I know what it's all about. I have drilled Wells. Him having that clean water for drinking will be precious. He can get other water from somewheres else. I like clean drinking water.

Just helped my dad pull a pump a few months ago. We have a farm with a few large curb Wells on it. He and I both are firm believers in submerged pumps. I never liked foot valve pumps. Dad's problem was a couple of rowdy steers that were playing around the well. There is a high and low water wire down near the pump and they messed it up. The farm I go fix things at has three 600' Wells on it too, but I haven't pulled one.

Dad bought a nice little hydraulic well drilling rig years ago. I was just like a little oil drilling rig. Dig two reserve pits, had a 4" pump. Two 20 or so horse engines, one for pump and one for hydraulics. Chiksan joint on the top drive. Drill pipe was 2 3/8" upset tubing made into 10' lengths. I've went 300' with it.

 

[Egon]

If grid goes down, pull the pump because it is useless. Get some 3" and make a few well buckets. Get a good greaseable pulley, not a flea market special, but a good oilfield type. Set you up a place to fasten it above well. Get you a few 300' ropes NOW. Local stores usually have 50' of big rope. So you need to order some. Your well buckets, get some 3" and put a bell reducer and be able to screw a check valve, spring loaded type, on bottom of this bucket you done made. Secret is, take the spring out of the check valve. Then, just the weight of the bucket will displace the seated ball and allow bucket to fill. Oh top of bucket, cut a collar in half and glue it onto pipe. Bail for bucket then can be bolted across pipe, just under collar you glued on. That way your bolt heads won't be scraping things. Me, I'd make a few buckets, buy a few ropes, few pulleys. All the things you have to do if the grid does go down, none of it happens without water. That's just how it is. I would stock up on instant coffee too. I heat water and put in thermal bottles so I have hot coffee before first light.

Bailer and slick line.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Bailer and slick line.

I don't know all them scientific terms. Though my method was scientifically figured out.

 

[MTGreen]

Have you thought about a large underground cistern filled from the well when you have power? Chlorinate and swap out the water once a year. If only used for drinking, 10,000 gallons goes a long way. Then use the generator to refill

 

[ponytug]

Have you thought about a large underground cistern filled from the well when you have power? Chlorinate and swap out the water once a year. If only used for drinking, 10,000 gallons goes a long way. Then use the generator to refill

That's pretty common here, and required by most of the local fire codes, with the minor change that the tanks are above ground due to the general lack of sustained subzero temperatures.

Even with animals, we can go weeks off our tanks. We have our plumbed such that the well water flows through the tanks and is then used, keeping the water turning over and fresh.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Have you thought about a large underground cistern filled from the well when you have power? Chlorinate and swap out the water once a year. If only used for drinking, 10,000 gallons goes a long way. Then use the generator to refill

He's talking grid down. Toting a thousand gallons of water is no fun. Lot easier to take clothes to a creek. Get clean drinkable water from a well. It takes a lot of water to wash a week of clothes. Then add other people and their week of clothes, more water. He can gutter his house and collect that water for clothes, dishes, bathing. Clean, pure drinking water will be the premium. A few solid tire wheel barrows help a lot. Solid tired wagons, like from a green house or nursery, work great too. They are industrial compared to a kids wagon, but I have a kids wagon too. But, the big heavy duties have greaseable wheels and are quiet. I have put many V-8 engines on them. I change engines on vehicles so those wagons come in handy. I use the truck crane to set engine on wagon. Then I pull in shop with a lawn mower. I have rolling A frames with two chain hoists on them. Old engine I pulled is already on hoist, add new engine also. I always have to swap a few things from old to new. Then I set old engine on wagon and take it out. Just mentioning to say how tough they are. I've been using them over 20 years.

 

[MTGreen]

He's talking grid down. Toting a thousand gallons of water is no fun. Lot easier to take clothes to a creek. Get clean drinkable water from a well. It takes a lot of water to wash a week of clothes. Then add other people and their week of clothes, more water. He can gutter his house and collect that water for clothes, dishes, bathing. Clean, pure drinking water will be the premium. A few solid tire wheel barrows help a lot. Solid tired wagons, like from a green house or nursery, work great too. They are industrial compared to a kids wagon, but I have a kids wagon too. But, the big heavy duties have greaseable wheels and are quiet. I have put many V-8 engines on them. I change engines on vehicles so those wagons come in handy. I use the truck crane to set engine on wagon. Then I pull in shop with a lawn mower. I have rolling A frames with two chain hoists on them. Old engine I pulled is already on hoist, add new engine also. I always have to swap a few things from old to new. Then I set old engine on wagon and take it out. Just mentioning to say how tough they are. I've been using them over 20 years.

Unclear where the toting, wheelbarrows, and wagons come from?

Fill cistern and chlorinate before grid goes down, use cistern for drinkable water only using gravity or short depth hand pump -should last months. When getting low, use generator to run well pump to refill.

A little prep here will last years of potable drinking water. And if/when the grid comes back up you haven't torn out your well system and need a professional to come hook it back up